The fundamental cause of snoring is a restriction or blockage of the air passage in the throat. This occurs when muscles relax during sleep allowing soft tissue in the back of the throat to sag. This soft tissue then blocks the flow of air needed for breathing. Most people that snore overcome this blockage by breathing harder, and the increased air pressure partially opens up the air passage. The snoring sound is the restricted airflow vibrating the soft tissue. Besides the obvious noise, the snoring person also has laborious breathing that decreases the quality of sleep. In extreme cases of air passage blockage, there is a medical condition called obstructive sleep apnea where the quality of sleep is severely degraded.
There are hundreds of patents relating to anti-snoring devices. Almost all the mechanical devices that have been developed simply do not treat the fundamental cause of snoring because they do not open up the blocked air passage in the throat. There are two classes of mechanical anti-snoring devices that actually open up this blocked air passage. The first class opens the blocked air passage in the throat by forcing the lower jaw to jut forward to an unnatural position. However, these devices that force the lower jaw forward are very uncomfortable and can cause alignment problems with the teeth.
The second class of anti-snoring devices that opens the blocked air passage in the throat utilizes an air mask, a hose and a low-pressure air compressor to inflate the lungs and air passages to a pressure typically between 70 and 120 Pascal above atmospheric pressure (a pressure between about 7 mm and 12 mm of water). This class of device is usually called a CPAP machine (Continuous Positive Airways Pressure machine). These machines are expensive, uncomfortable and restrictive. About half of the people that start using CPAP machines to treat sleep apnea cannot tolerate them and discontinue their use.
All the known prior art anti-snoring devices that utilize an adhesive are intended to be worn somewhere on the face. These devices open the nose, distort the cheek or cover the mouth. None of these prior art adhesive devices stop snoring by expanding a portion of the neck to open up the blocked air passage in the throat.
For example, the following patents utilize an adhesive device to cover the mouth: French Patent No. 78 08083 to Blander; German Patent No. DE 3837277 to Obermeler; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,636 to Woods.
The following patents utilize an adhesive or suction device on the nose: U.S. Pat. No. 1,292,083 to Sawyer; U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,714 to Von Duyke; U.S. Pat. No. Re. 35,408 to Petruson; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,813 to Sanderson.
The following patents utilize an adhesive device on the cheek: U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,372 to Carlton; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,524 to Corcoran.
All the known prior art anti-snoring devices that utilize an implant utilize an implant in the soft palate to alter the dynamic response and reduce snoring. No prior art anti-snoring patents use an implant to expand an external part of the neck. Typical soft palate implant patents are: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,848,447 6,634,362 6,601,585 6,578,580 6,523,543 to Conrad and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,626,181 6,601,584 6,523,542 to Knudson.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,938 to Scarberry describes a body part enclosure comprising a sheath or rap that can be made rigid by the application of a vacuum. One of the applications briefly mentioned for this device is a sheath to create a partial vacuum on the neck as a treatment for sleep apnea. The vacuum is intended to draw out tissue and expand the airway during sleep to relieve airway obstruction. No specific design is given for a device that would treat sleep apnea.
The Scarberry prior art requires that the vacuum device be attached to a vacuum pump to compensate for minor leaks. Also, movement of a sleeping person can break the vacuum seal and cause a major leak. There will also be a strong pushing force exerted on the seals and this will tend to nullify any possible beneficial effect obtained from the vacuum expansion of other tissue. The invention herein is much more practical. The invention avoids the problems associated with vacuum by using mechanical means to connect to the skin.
The foregoing patents reflect the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, these patents is intended to aid in discharging Applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be relevant to the examination of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated patents disclose, teach, suggest, show, or otherwise render obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described and claimed herein.